Blog Guide
Once you’ve decided a garden needs proper design rather than trial and error, there’s a second decision that matters just as much: design-only, or design and build. They deliver genuinely different things, and the right choice depends on your situation more than your budget.
What Design-Only Delivers
Design-only means a designer produces a complete set of drawings and specifications, which you then take to a contractor of your choosing to build. The deliverables typically include a measured survey, a concept layout, detailed design drawings, a material specification, a planting plan, and construction details for any complex features.
This route suits clients who already have a contractor relationship they want to keep, or who want the flexibility to get multiple build quotes on the open market once the design is fixed. Design-only fees in Cheshire for a properly detailed project typically range from £3,000 to £8,000, depending on site complexity and the level of detail required.
The Limitation: The Handover Gap
The risk with design-only is what happens between the drawing and the ground. A design produced without direct knowledge of how a specific contractor works — what materials they can access, how they handle sub-base depth and drainage on clay — can be compromised during construction, without the designer present to catch it. A drawing that specifies proper drainage doesn’t guarantee proper drainage gets built; it guarantees someone was told to build it, which isn’t the same thing on a site with clay this unforgiving.
What Design and Build Closes
Design and build closes that gap entirely, because the design is produced with full knowledge of the construction method, the sub-base specification, the drainage approach and the material standards that will actually be applied. The designer and the build team are the same people — there’s no translation step between design intent and what ends up in the ground, and no contractor interpreting a drawing in a way that takes a shortcut invisible in the finished surface until the first proper Cheshire winter reveals it.
For gardens with complex ground conditions, drainage that needs active management, or permanent structures requiring engineered footings, design and build is generally the more appropriate route. The design cost is folded into the overall project, and you get a single point of contact and accountability from the first site visit through to handover — rather than a designer to chase about the drawing and a separate contractor to chase about the build.
Which Route Actually Suits You?
Design-only makes sense if you already trust a builder and want the flexibility of competitive quotes on a fixed design. Design and build makes more sense the more complex your ground conditions are, or the more the project depends on structures — retaining walls, level changes, drainage systems — where a gap between drawing and delivery is genuinely risky rather than just theoretically possible.
Either way, the questions worth asking before you commit are the same: what sub-base specification is actually being used, who’s accountable if drainage fails, and has the person drawing the garden ever had to build one on ground like yours. A designer who can answer that last question from direct build experience, rather than from a drawing brief alone, is usually the better sign than which route they happen to be offering.
Discuss Your Own Garden Design Project
We offer both routes, and we’ll tell you honestly which one suits your specific site rather than steering you toward whichever is more profitable for us. If you’re still weighing it up, bring your existing contractor relationship (or lack of one) and your ground conditions to the first conversation — those two facts usually settle the decision faster than anything else. See our garden design page for the full process, or get in touch for a free consultation.